Garment hanger



Nov. 7, 1961 J. M. ZUCKERMAN 3,007,616

GARMENT HANGER Filed Dec. 8, 1959 INVEN TOR.

United States Patent York Filed Dec. 8, 1959, Ser. No. 858,189 1 Claim. (Cl. 223--89) This invention relates to garment hangers, more particularly it relates to a garment hanger that is uniquely adapted to support more than one garment article at a time. Each garment article so supported on the inventive hanger assumes a specific relationship with each other as to best display the attractive features of the combination of such garment articles.

Garment hangers per se have been employed for numerous functions; however, it is the desideratum of the instant garment hanger to support articles of garment, such as two-piece childrens or infants outfits in an arrangement such that the jacket of the outfit overlaps but does not fully cover the trousers or pants or slip or skirt or panties associated therewith. This results in a most attractive display of the fine features of each garment article of the outfit and of the individual articles in combination with each other.

In accomplishing the purposes of this invention, it is an object to provide a garment hanger having portions thereof specifically suited for supporting the shoulders of a garment article whereby such garment article is suspended completely over the hanger.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hanger of unique construction that accommodates the waist portion of a garment article to permit such waist portion to be retained in expanded condition and mounted on the hanger so that the article is suspended partially beneath the shoulder supported article and partially therebelow.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a hanger that is adapted to support waisted garment articles of ditferent waist sizes.

A further object of the invention is to provide a garment hanger wherein the shoulder support structure and the waist support structure are predeterminately vertically spaced relative to each other and an adjustable mechanism is utilizable to vary said predetermined vertical relationship.

Other and further objects of my invention reside in the structures and arrangements hereinafter more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the garment hanger constructed in accordance with the teaching of the invention,

FIG. 2 is a side view of the garment hanger shown in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section of the vertical adjustment mechanism.

Referring now to the drawing, the hanger there-disclosed is generally identified by the numeral 10. Hanger comprises a shoulder support member 12 that has defined intermediate the ends thereof a support portion 14. Formed integral with the support portion 14 is a hook member 16 of any convenient or conventional shape similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing, thereby enabling the hanger 10 to be suspended from any convenient rod or other likely support.

The hanger 10 is made unitary in construction, preferably molded of a soft pliable plastic material as polyethylene. The shoulder support member is provided with a shoulder support surface 18 that is narrow in width. The surface 18 extends from opposite sides of the hook 16 wherein the same projects upwardly from the portion ice 14 to opposite ends of the member 12. Basically, the shoulder support member 12 comprised of the portion 14 is inclined downward and outwardly away from the portion 12, interrupted only by slip support apertures 20, to terminate in integrally formed downwardly extending standards 22 and 24.

A laterally extending waist support member 26 is positioned in vertical spaced relationship beneath the shoulder support member 12 and has connected thereto a pair of laterally spaced waist support projections 28 and 30. The waist projections 28 and 30 may be termed, for the sake of convenience of reference, as the wider waist support projections. A similar pair of laterally, but narrower spaced waist support projections 32 and 34, also are connected with the support member 26. When the hanger is molded of plastic material, the pairs of waist support projections 28, 30 and 32, 34 are molded integral with the waist member 26. Each waist support projection is provided with a support surface that is directed angularly downward and laterally outward from the support member 26 to present increasingly wider waist supporting diameters for waisted garment articles to be mounted thereon or placed thereabout.

The lateral ends of the waist support member '26 terminate in upwardly directed standards 36 and 38. A vertically adjustable locking mechanism is provided by the cooperation of the downwardly directed standards 22 and 24 coacting with the upwardly directed standards 36 and 38. The adjustable mechanism generally identified by the numeral 40 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 3.

Adjustment mechanism 40 comprises the formation of a plurality of relatively engageable ratchet teeth 42 and 44. The ratchet teeth 42 may be formed on the lower standards 36 and 38 while the teeth 44 may be formed on the upper standards 22 and 24 for complemental engagement therewith. A simple locking ring or loop 46 is molded integral with the upper standards 22 and 24 and is sufficiently pliable to permit the engaging teeth 42 and 44 to be engaged and disengaged for relative upward or downward adjustment. The loop 46 thus serves as a locking member to retain the teeth of the upper and lower cooperating standards in engagement with each other.

In practice it has been found that a slightly less expensive hanger may be constructed having non-separable standards 22, 36 and 24, 38 that are unbroken and unitary in length so that the adjustment mechanism 40 is eliminated therefrom and the vertical spacing between the shoulder support member 12 and the Waist support member 26 is fixed. The standards are directed angularly inward and downward from the shoulder member 12 to the waist member 26. The adjustment mechanism 40, therefore, permits relative vertical adjustment of the members '12 and 26 relative to each other so that more or less of the waisted garment article supported about the pairs of waist support projections 28, 30 and 32, 34 may extend a predetermined distance below and beyond the lower confines of the garment article supported on the shoulder member 12.

Where the garment outfit comprises a blouse or jacket 50 and a skirt or pants 52, the shoulders of the jacket 50 are draped over the surface 18 of the shoulder support member 12. It covers the pairs of waist projections 28, 30 and 32, 34 extending downward from the support member 26. If a slip 52 forms a part of the garment, its shoulder straps may be supported at the slip support apertures 29 so that its lower portion will extend for display beyond the terminal end of the blouse 50.

On the other hand if the garment article 52 is a girls skirt or boys trousers, the same may be hung at the waist thereof between appropriately laterally spaced pairs of projections 28, 30 and 32, 34. When the standards 22, 36 and 24, 38 connecting members 12 and 26 are fixed or adjusted if they include the adjustment mechanism 40, the trousers or skirt will extend beyond the terminal end of the blouse or jacket 50 equal to the vertical spacing of the members 12 and 26. However, where the adjustment mechanism 40 is provided on such standards, as shown in the drawing, more or less of the skirt, pants or trousers 52 may be made to extend below the garment article 59 for exhibition by simple adjustment of the engaging teeth 42 and 44.

Thus the present invention enables the hanging support of a rnulti-piece garment or outfit from the same hanger. The unique arrangement of structure permits the inventive hanger to be so arranged as to predeterminately position the shoulder and waist supports relative to each other so that the proper display of certain portions of each component article of the overall garment can be shown in a desired relationship.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art, Without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claim appended hereto.

I claim:

A hanger for the simultaneous support of a plurality of garment articles comprising a shoulder member having a surface over which the shoulders of a shouldered garment article are adapted to be supported in suspension therefrom, a waist support member vertically spaced from said shoulder member, a first pair of laterally spaced Waist support elements integrally connected with said waist support member and depending downward therefrom, at least a second pair of laterally spaced Waist support elements integrally connected with and depending downward from said Waist support member and spaced laterally inward from said first pair of laterally spaced waist support elements, said Waist support elements of each of said pairs having a waist support surface on the lateral outer side thereof and being directed laterally outward and downward increasing the lateral distance between the Waist support surfaces of each of said first and second pairs of Waist support elements for the suspended support therefrom of waisted garments of different size ranges, the lower ends of said waist support surfaces being unobstructed to permit the downward removal of the waisted garments therefrom, and standards of predetermined vertical lengths connecting said shoulder member and waist support member vertically spaced to position the shouldered garment article to cover the upper portion of the waisted garment supported on said pairs of Waist support surfaces said standards each having separable means thereon adjustable to vary the vertical space between said Waist and shoulder members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 181,188 Lascell Aug. 15, 1876 2,205,489 Nelson June 25, 1940 2,345,398 Isaacson Mar. 28, 1944 2,608,324 Currier Aug. 26, 1952 2,609,977 Lausch Sept. 9, 1952 2,796,206 Schwartz June 18, 1957 

